


Java Jabber

by Komi



Category: Coffee Prince
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2013-01-26
Packaged: 2017-11-26 22:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/655319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komi/pseuds/Komi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee is what she loves and if other people are tired of her talking about it all the time, so be it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Java Jabber

I.  
  
When Eun Chan tries to tell her mother the differences between _Coffea canephora_ and _Coffea arabica_ beans - how the former is more bitter and less flavourful, but she likes it anyway for the full-bodied taste and superior _crema_ \- her mother only sighs. " _Aigoo_ , do you sit in your apartment all day and only read, drink, and dream coffee? You should go out and meet some people! Have some fun!"  
  
"I do that every day," Eun Chan replies cheerily into the receiver, precariously balancing her phone, books, and bag of groceries she's splurged on in celebration of a good day, "My friends and I have lots of fun learning about how the coffee beans are sorted in other countries by ripeness and colour--"  
  
"There you go again! Just listen to your mother for once, Eun Chan! An opportunity like this to live overseas, it's something I could only have ever dreamed about!" was her mother's scolding reply, "Do some shopping! Eat at one of those fancy restaurants and take lots of pictures of the tourist sites for Eun Sae and me!"  
  
" _Umma_ ," she addresses her mother insistently as she fumbles for the keys to her front door, "The money I've been given isn't for spending in that way! Besides, I _like_ reading and drinking and dreaming about coffee all day long! It's why I'm here in the first place!"  
  
"Ah, there's no reasoning with such a stubborn, responsible daughter!" her mother sighs again with defeated fondness, "I only hope your obsession doesn't go so far that my grandkids will be named 'Espresso' and 'Latte'!"  
  
Eun Chan only reacts with a laughing shriek of protest as her mother prattles off a list of other coffee-themed names into her ear for the next seven minutes.  
  
  
II.  
  
"Hey," Eun Sae interrupts her mid-speech about the intense heat caramelizing starch in the beans to produce simple sugars and a more aesthetically pleasing brown colour, "Don't you ever have anything else to talk about?"  
  
"Hmm, well... there's also grading, storing, brewing," she counts each one off on her fingers teasingly so that Eun Sae can see over the webcam and grins when her sister rolls her eyes.  
  
"How such a boring girl and someone as charming and youthful as me are sisters is a mystery," Eun Sae scowls with a perfectly timed hair-flip. "What about the fashion? Food? And..." she says with an arched eyebrow and mischievous grin, "... the Italian men?"  
  
"All very handsome and in love with me, of course," Eun Chan answers without missing a beat.  
  
"No way!"  
  
"They _especially_ like that I talk so much about coffee," she nods sagely, "It's my most winning trait in Italy."  
  
"Hunh!" is her sister's unbelieving reply.  
  
  
III.  
  
To: Go Eun Chan  
From: Jin Ha Rim  
  
To our precious My-chan!  
  
A whole e-mail about making cafe latte, cafe breva, and cafe au lait? Really? Like I don't hear enough of this around Coffee Prince day-in and day-out! You're supposed to be my breath of fresh air from Italy, but instead all you send me is pictures of things I already see everyday! Even your cute, smiling face isn't penance enough for this, My-chan! Listen, what you need to do is tell me more about the Italian women, maybe even send me some pictures of your Italian girl friends! With their sophistication and glamour, you should definitely bring that kind of clientele for us when you come back, okay? Make sure to tell everyone how great Coffee Prince is and that they should visit especially to meet...  
  
The Prince of All Waiters,  
Ha Rim!  
  
  
IV.  
  
Dear Eun Chan,  
  
Thank you so much for your latest postcard from Italy. Han Seong and I laughed so much at your drawings, and we'll soon have a whole wall dedicated as a gallery of Eun Chan's work for all our visitors to admire! It was lovely as usual to hear about all that you're learning and we are certainly becoming much more educated about coffee as a result; but our one request is that we never hear enough about _you_. What small adventures have you embarked on in Italy? What are your favourite places and things to do? What interesting people have you befriended? Han Gyul can never be counted on to give us proper updates as he always ends up drinking all our most expensive wine and ends the night singing love songs to the moon.  
  
We hope to see you soon and hear from you even sooner!  
  
Warmest regards,  
Yoo Juu and Han Seong  
  
PS: Terry says hello too!  
  
  
V.  
  
"Don't you get tired of this?" Eun Chan says abruptly after her thirty minute spiel debating the merits of the French press versus the coffee percolator.  
  
There's a long pause over the phone and she wonders if Han Gyul has been bored to sleep by her coffee-talk. "Hey!" she almost shouts into the phone, frustration brewing in her voice.  
  
"'This' is pretty broad," he replies solemnly like a chastised child, "So I was trying to think in the Go Eun Chan way to decide which 'this' you were talking about."  
  
"Oh," she's glad he can't see her right now, flushed and shamefaced, "I just meant me always talking about coffee."  
  
His laugh comes out in a whoosh, as if he'd been holding his breath and the relief in his voice is almost palpable. "That's all? Why should I be tired of it?"  
  
"Because everyone else always complains," she pouts, feeling as if _she_ were the chastised child now. "They always say 'Enough about coffee, talk about something else, Eun Chan!'"  
  
"And when have you ever listened to anyone about anything?" Han Gyul teases, and she can just imagine him reaching out to tweak her nose and muss up her hair with a grin, "But you can call me anytime you want to talk about coffee, then. Save all your coffee-talk for only me."  
  
"Only you?"  
  
His voice softens and she leans against her pillows wishing he was there with her. "I love it. The way you talk about coffee and how happy it makes you and how much you want to share that with everyone. But if they don't want it, I'll selfishly take it all for now. I'll take every bit I can get of the happy Eun Chan that loves coffee."  
  
And then he launches into a special rendition of "Java Jive" just for her and the ache in her stomach that misses him melts into laughter and music as she sings along with him.  
  
" _I love coffee, I love tea_  
 _I love Han Gyul and he loves me!_  
 _Coffee and tea and Han Gyul and me!_  
 _A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup!"_


End file.
